West Virginia has now exceeded 100 confirmed coronavirus cases.
An update Saturday evening from the Department of Health and Human Resources showed the state’s total positive case count at 113.
That took into account 17 new positive results. The total comes from 2,818 tests so far.
There have been 2,705 negative tests.
West Virginia has not reported any deaths so far.
The state breakdown of cases by county is 10 individuals from Berkeley County, two from Greenbrier County, three from Hancock County, five from Harrison County, seven from Jackson County, four from Jefferson County, 19 from Kanawha County, one from Logan County, five from Marion County, four from Marshall County, three from Mason County, two from Mercer County, 29 from Monongalia County, six from Ohio County, one from Pleasants County, one from Preston County, three from Putnam County, three from Raleigh County, two from Tucker County, one from Upshur County, and two from Wood County.
.@WV_DHHR today confirmed 17 new cases of #COVID19 have been officially reported to the state, making the total positive case count 113. See county and additional updates in link: https://t.co/6HPhpj2uzd
— WV DHHR (@WV_DHHR) March 28, 2020
Dividing the number of positives by the total number of tests continues to show about 4 percent, the same as in recent days.
West Virginia officials have advised social isolation to try to hold off on a surge of cases that could overwhelm hospitals.
Saturday morning on MetroNews’ “Talkline,” the state’s newly-named coronavirus czar, Clay Marsh, said he is comfortable with the rate right now.
“These numbers are looking steady,” Marsh said, “so we know with the important work of all West Virginians using their power to take away the life blood of the virus spread, we’ve been holding steady — which buys us many more days of being able to plan and be able to get things in order.”
.@claymarsh, Vice President and Executive dean of WVU Health Sciences, talks with @HoppyKercheval about the importance of social distancing. WATCH: https://t.co/jmMe7bOYY9 pic.twitter.com/i2vBWZEmGh
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) March 28, 2020
Marsh: West Virginians working together to delay virus spread
Gov. Jim Justice and Marsh today joined Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, along with their state health experts, on a call to discuss COVID-19 response plans and to reinforce lines of communication between the states.
“We agreed to work together and to share knowledge and resources and I truly appreciate Governor DeWine and Governor Wolf for offering their support back to West Virginia,” Justice stated.
“We are all facing an unprecedented challenge and the only way to win this fight against COVID-19 is to work together as a team, as Americans, to share knowledge freely, and that’s exactly what we did and are going to continue to do.”
Delegate Caleb Hanna, R-Nicholas, urged residents from all over West Virginia to follow public health officials’ guidance. Doing so, Hanna said, will help slow the spread and keep residents safe.
“We’re all in this together, so we all need to do our part to protect our loved ones and neighbors from exposure to this deadly disease,” Delegate Hanna said.
“That includes taking seriously all the precautions we’ve heard so many times already: stay home, work from home if possible, avoid others if you feel sick or have been around someone with symptoms, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and wash your hands thoroughly and often.”